Moving to Minnesota in a few weeks and hoping you all might have some recommendations for potential clubs/race teams and a good bike fitter…whatcha got?!?
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Where in MN are you moving to and what kind of racing?
Chris Balser is the only bike fitter I hear about (think his site was Bike Fit Guru or something along those lines). I’m pretty sure he operates out of the Twin Cities area.
(Not that there aren’t others, just everyone raves about his service)
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Currently house hunting in the SE metro. I’ve been racing road and crits in CA and would like to continue along with adding some longer endurance/gravel events and XC MTB in 2021. Also looking forward to getting on a fat bike this winter and explore the river bottoms.
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Thanks!
2nd for Chris Balser (Bike Fit Guru) he’s a genius.
Loon State Cyclists are a pretty good team from what I hear.
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Unfortunately I am unaware of the bike race scene or options. At times I wonder if there just isn’t much, but it’s probably more my young family and that I’ve always been on the triathlon side of things (I have always been ignorant to MTB options completely as well).
Rode the Bloomington River Bottoms a bit as a kid 20+ years ago on an old Huffy but that’s about it 
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Yes to Chris Balser. He is usually very busy so best to look at his schedule asap
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The MN calendar is at www.mcf.net. If you like crits you are in luck, it’s mostly all that was happening even before Covid. I think they were down to 2 road races in the last few years. A couple of crit series are held at the state fairgrounds. There are bigger multi-day events in WI and IA that see a lot of attendance from the region. I would say the road scene has a committed core but it’s not as big as it used to be.
Loon State is associate with 110 Cycles in Mendota Heights which I would consider in the SE metro and they seem pretty focused around racing. Balance Cycling runs out of the uptown area in Minneapolis and I think Midtown has some committed road racers. Don’t mean to leave any others out, those are a few that come to mind.
Chris is really good and an interesting guy. Now Bikes in St. Paul often works with Chris and they also do good fittings. I have no direct experience but heard some good things about Larry at The Fix in Minneapolis.
Loon
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The following are a few MTB series:
The Loppet Foundation puts on a bunch of MTB races; mostly out of the Theo Wirth area. https://www.loppet.org/
MN Mountain Bike Series happens non-COVID years: https://www.mnmtbseries.com/
Freewheel Bike normally puts on a Thursday night series: Freewheel Bike Shop - Minneapolis - Twin Cities - St. Paul
There are a couple races up in Cuyuna each year: https://www.cuyunalakesmtb.com/
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Check out the heck of the north race series. Awesome gravel, well planned, beautiful routes in northern MN.
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Welcome to MN. I don’t have any input on bike fitters, but good shops that you should know of are:
Angry Catfish
One on One
NOW Bikes
Grand Performance
MN is full of talented riders. Not super heavy on the team scene, but there are a couple established teams/clubs.
- Fulton Brewing
- Midtown
- 110/Loon State
- Freewheel
110 Cycles/Loon State is probably the most competitive across disciplines. I race CX (Masters 35+, Single Speed). Welcome to the state, feel free to private message me if you want to chat more. I have a lot of solid routes around the metro and have done a range of gravel events in the state.
Tony
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Welcome to MN! Should be an interesting time to move here given the upheaval and dual pandemic… but c’mon down!
This looks super rad! And it looks like the September event is still on the calendar. Thank you!
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Have done the Heck and Le Grand du Nord, both are well ran and a lot of fun. Great riding up along the North Shore.
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Born and raised in MN so it’s more like a homecoming. Spent the last 6yrs in SoCal which makes MN seem pretty tame, despite the current turmoil. Looking forward to helping rebuild/forge a better community for all.
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Thanks! I’ll PM you re: routes and questions once I’m settled in.
Awesome attitude dude, welcome back!
Resurrecting this as registration for the Grand du Nord opens tomorrow! Are you riding it this year?
How would I fare on 32mm tires?
Can’t thank you enough for this recommendation! I saw Chris a few months ago. Through his work and a referral to an amazing bodyworker in his network, I’m well on my way to healing a 3+ year chronic injury.
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